Looper

Thanks. That was a surprise jump as on the other side there was a depression on the top.

Remember there’s always going to be a next time. It’s literally a fender bender so hopefully it gets fixed soon. Looking forward to seeing you soon in the dunes.

The last 200 m is one of the most technical areas in Dubai deserts. I remember our final day on leaders lead @Davie Chase and you led us out. No doubt it took so much time to get out.

Was it a FB+, perhaps more than that. I remember my first Intermediate drive more than two years ago and looking back now, frankly it might not have been this intense. At that time it was super intense no doubt about it. So in that regard it trumps an IM drive as well. Would I change anything from what we did today for a FB or IM drive? - nah, nada nothing changes. It's just an experience, either we chose to cherish or choose to forget about. I tend to keep it for the record and it was a damn good drive for my 200th entry in to the stats. Technically it is 196th drive per se; as there are 4 "drives" that aren't drives as such we will get to it in a month. I think; I will celebrate 3 years and proper 200 drives together with @Carnity in September this year. Coming back to today's drive in my mind there are 4 parts of the drive. Part one: when we started from our starting point we were supposed to head straight ahead, however looking at many many extra long wheel based cars it was prudent to go 10'o clock from the starting point to find some long range dunes. We did well in the start. While it is bushy as a river bed, yet we did find a lot of long range dunes to navigate and we were able to manage a good pace. As I mentioned at the start of the drive, speed was the objective and whatever we find on the way is a bonus. Few refusals here and there did hamper the flow a bit but we all know it is part of the game - nothing can be done about it. Part two: After our first break we started our second part of the drive and in this part we reached the first Sabkha. Towards the end we were supposed to play on some long range dunes but the gps caused some navigational issues. While we did exactly as I planned back at my home; I was having the issue with Gaia GPS to pin point accurate position. Perhaps the phone was too hot to handle so it was hanging a bit. I was at some level driving in the blind and I faced this issue a couple of more times. Part three: After crossing the first Sabkha it was the first technical area followed by long range dunes in this section. By the time we reached to the long range dunes I was lost, as my gps hanged again. I had basic idea where I was but it would have been much better if I knew where exactly I was as I did not want to deviate much from my planed track. If I had better idea we would have played a bit more there. We in the forth phase of the drive cross the second Sabkah to reach Little Swaihan. there was an unfortunate incident but luckily it was not serious. We did a couple of things in this part; for the first half we drove in some super technical areas and towards the exit I kept to edges of the area to find some lost pace that we were looking for. We finished the drive on the dot 9:30 as planned. Thank you all for joining this drive. Thanks @Jaro Tuzinsky for an excellent second lead and @DP1011 for sweeping the convoy.

@Stumpy Paj, @Jaro Tuzinsky, @Mark D, @Mark B, @Amir Amiri, @Joseph Raju, @Bravoecho, @Mohit Gurnani, @Gary F, @Pieter Pot, @DP1011 Please try to be a bit early so that we can deflate and start around the start time. We have our very own marquee advisor DP1011 joining us on our drive going behind Mark B and Mark D (pun intended 100%😁). Following are the details of the drive tomorrow: Meeting time: 5:30 AM Meeting Point: Faqa towards Chimney Fuel Station: Emarat- Grayteesah Convoy will be on Radio Channel: CH3(446.056) Convoy Order:

@Stumpy Paj, @Jaro Tuzinsky, @Mark D, @Mark B, @Amir Amiri, @Joseph Raju, @Bravoecho, @Mohit Gurnani, @Gary F, @Pieter Pot Thank you all for joining the drive. I will be posting the convoy order later in the day. Request you not to be a No-Show and instead rest well and arrive on time. In case you think there are going to be any issues withdraw from the drive. Meanwhile do check the health of your vehicle as it will be quite hot very soon, exceeding 40 degrees by the time we end the drive. This drive will be slightly different than the previous FB+ that I started here. Instead of going straight ahead & parallel to the solar park installation we will head southwest to the long-range dunes. Our objective will be to avoid technical patches on the way as much as possible and reach as quickly as possible to Little Sweihan. We will exit at the Innovation Center at or about 9:30. You may expect a slight delay.

@Amir Amiri can you tell me what vehicle are you going to bring to the drive. I know you have a green RAM 1500 but your profile has a FJ making me curious.

Congratulations @Rk ram on your promotion. Well done !!